President Asif Ali Zardari’s decision to summon Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi for an urgent meeting may appear routine, but in reality it signals the gravity of the coalition crisis gripping Islamabad. Naqvi is no ordinary cabinet member. As a powerful figure at the center of government — and widely regarded as Zardari’s most trusted ally in the federal setup — his presence in Karachi underscores how seriously the presidency views the escalating war of words between the Sindh and Punjab governments.
The ruling alliance between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has never been one of equals. It is a marriage of convenience, held together by the need for stability, not shared vision. But recent weeks have exposed how fragile that marriage really is. What began as a dispute over flood compensation has metastasized into a bitter quarrel over water rights and the now-shelved Cholistan canal project. Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, bristling at PPP criticism, has taken a confrontational tone. The PPP, which governs Sindh, has responded by walking out of both the National Assembly and the Senate.
The damage is not merely rhetorical. For weeks, press conferences and social media posts have replaced serious deliberation. Each side has doubled down, with Maryam refusing to apologize for her outburst and PPP leaders dismissing her government as a “Form 47 byproduct.” Such public feuding does not inspire confidence. It projects the image of a coalition unable to govern, more interested in point-scoring than solving the crises Pakistan faces — from a precarious economy to climate shocks and security threats.
By turning to Naqvi, Zardari has made clear that he intends to play a decisive role in containing this rift. For Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has already sought the counsel of his elder brother Nawaz, this should be a wake-up call. When the president’s allies are deployed to manage coalition tempers, it signals that the government is drifting dangerously close to paralysis.
The lesson here is simple: coalitions succeed only when disagreements are contained, not aired as spectacles. Pakistan’s ruling parties cannot afford the luxury of self-indulgent feuds. They came together to provide stability; they risk losing even that by tearing at one another in public.
If the PPP and PML-N want to govern — and to reassure both citizens and international partners that Pakistan is capable of steady leadership — they must resolve disputes quietly, respect provincial sensitivities, and present a united front. The alternative is a coalition that spends its energies fighting itself, leaving the country adrift at a perilous time.
